


Doctor Pershing's Atonement

by barullera



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: M/M, Post-Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:15:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22287733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barullera/pseuds/barullera
Summary: The Mandalorian is looking for Baby Yoda's kind. Doctor Pershing is looking to survive. Can they help each other out?This story takes place post-season 1.
Relationships: Baby Yoda & The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV), The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)/Pershing (Star Wars)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 42





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've just finished the first season of the show and I loved it. My only complaint is that there wasn't enough Omid Abtahi on it. So I'm fixing this glaring mistake on the showrunner's part. 
> 
> And yes, since I couldn't find a name for Doctor Pershing, I made one up.
> 
> Also, I have no beta and I haven't written anything in months. This was something like a fever dream that I typed in the early hours of the morning after I finished watching the show. So there's going to be mistakes and horrible writing. Consider yourself warned.

Doctor Tien Pershing woke with a start and everything was dark around him. There was a throbbing pain in his head and his right leg. The place smelled of blood. His own? He didn't dare to move and check. He tried to remember where he was but his mind was muddled. A small sliver of light came from what seemed to be the door, but not nearly enough to allow him to see clearly. All he could tell was that the room had no windows, its walls and floor were cold metal. A spaceship? He tried to sit up, but the whole room started to spin and he fell back against the floor with a cry. His eyes closed and his mind slipped out of consciousness again.

A loud noise woke him once more. This time there was a blinding light and it took a moment for his eyes to get accustomed to it. It seemed to make his head throb harder, but he needed to know more about where he was. He sat up slowly. There was no dizziness this time and he was able to look around. He was alone. The place was small, nothing more than a cell. He was definitely on a ship. He even recognised the design, it was an imperial destroyer.

Suddenly, memories started to come back and flood his mind. Nevarro. The child. The Mandalorian. 

Another loud noise startled him. His body started to shake. 

From the moment he decided to escape, he knew that it would only be a matter of time until he was found again. Whether it was the remnants of the empire or the new republic, someone was bound to find him. He didn't have experience enough to hide successfully in the outer rim. He guessed he should be grateful that his luck and credits had lasted as long as they did. 

Another noise. An explosion and this time it sounded closer. He felt the walls of the cell shake. Were they being attacked?

Some minutes passed and everything was quiet. The only thing he could hear was the sound of his heart beating loudly.

All the time he had spent running and hiding, he kept imagining how was it all going to end for him. A stormtrooper blaster. An interrogation room. A silent hit when he least expected it. A public execution. The table of a re-conditioning suit. Every scenario kept playing over and over again and part of him was tired of it all.

Suddenly, the lights went out. There were screaming and the sound of rushed footsteps outside. He backed himself into a corner, but there was nowhere to hide. More screaming and the sound of blasters. 

All of a sudden, another explosion, louder than before, and the door of the cell burst open. A dark figure stood at the threshold, looking inside. They were holding some kind of weapon in their hand. Some blasters sounded in the distance and the figure raised their weapon in his direction.

He closed his eyes. He didn't cry or beg. He had been so afraid for so long, even before his escape. Maybe finally he would find some peace. 

A shot was fired and Doctor Tien Pershing's mind drifted into nothingness.


	2. Chapter 2

Was this how being dead felt like? Doctor Tien Pershing was warm and comfortable. He felt some pressure on his chest, some kind of heaviness, but no pain or discomfort. He was very drowsy and his eyes felt so heavy that he found them very difficult to open. His whole body felt sluggish.

He heard a small familiar noise coming from above him. Where had he heard that before?

After several attempts, he was finally able to open his eyes. Everything was blurry. His glasses. He wasn't wearing them. He could barely distinguish something standing over his chest. A blurry small green something looking at him. Could it be? 

The thing moved closer and a small green face with huge ears came into his field of vision. It was the child! It was alive! But how? Where was he? Could he be dreaming?

He felt small hands moving over his face and the creature started purring. 

"Hey! What did I tell you about getting out?" A sharp familiar voice said and made him jump. It took Tien a moment to realise that it was the child who was being addressed, not him. A pair of what looked like strong arms took the creature away as it giggled. 

"Wh... where...?" He tried to ask, but he was still too weak.

"Oh, you are awake." The voice commented without surprise.

Tien tried to raise his head but fell back heavily against the soft surface he was laying. His body felt unnaturally lethargic.

"I... I can't...." he tried to say.

"Don't try to move, the drug is still on your system." 

"Drug?" 

"Tranquilizer dart."

"Why...? Who...?"

"I did. Figure I'll be easier to just carry you." The voice said simply, without offering further explanation. 

A movement caught his eyes, the figure approached him and loomed over him menacingly. Tien flinched, terrified, and closed his eyes, waiting for some kind of punishment. When none came, he opened his eyes again and he could see clearly. He had his glasses back on and, in front of him, was the figure, finally visible. Silver armour and helmet shining under the artificial light. It was the Mandalorian.

"If I had wanted to kill you, I had plenty of chances before. I need you alive." He sounded slightly amused. 

"Wh... Why?" He asked, dreading the answer.

"Information." The Mandalorian said. "About the child."

"I don't..."

"You have more than I do. You helped it once, you can help it again. And right now, this is the safest place you'll get."

A cooing sound came from the floor. The child was trying to climb the cot again. The Mandalorian sighed and took it gently in his arms.

"Rest. We'll discuss terms later."

"Terms?" He asked, but it was too late. The Mandalorian and the child were no longer there. Alone, the soft hum of the engines lulled him back to sleep. He couldn't explain it, but he felt safer than he had felt for months.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still not beta. All mistakes are my own.

The ship was still quiet when Tien woke up again. Its engine was still humming softly, so they were still travelling through space. He briefly wondered where they were going, but then decided not to think about it just yet. 

Although there were no signs of the Mandalorian nor the child, the lights of the cabin had been dimmed slightly and some water had been left next to the cot, so they must have been there at some point while he slept. 

The doctor sat up carefully, already feeling his body lighter and his muscles easier to control. Other than a parched throat, there didn't seem to be much wrong with him, no pain or soreness to speak of. He took a small sip of water. He wanted to gulp it down, but he knew that would be unwise. 

Standing up proved to be a little more difficult. It was as if he had forgotten how his legs work and it took a few attempts until he was more or less standing upright. His clothing didn't make the task any easier. He had left behind his uniform some time ago and adopted what he had seen many inhabitants of the outer rim wear: layer upon layer of brown and beige coarse fabrics that covered him from head to toe. His glasses had been the only exception to the costume, but he would have been lost without them. 

Now, however, what had once been a good disguise, had become a huge hindrance. His clothes were completely covered in dust, grime, and suspicious dark stains that he didn't care to examine too closely. They were stiff and difficult to move. 

Struggling a bit, he took the outer layers of his outfit off. He looked with distaste at the dirty pile of clothing on the floor and hoped to never have to wear them again. All that was left on him were a pair of dark trousers, a light undershirt and a dark rough sweater that was too big for his slight frame.

As he was about to start exploring the place, a strange sound caught his attention, a soft melodic humming that was coming from above. Curious, he silently climbed the stairs to what seemed to be the cockpit of the ship. The door had been left open and what he saw shocked him completely. The Mandalorian was sitting down. He was using one of his hands to adjust the controls of the ship, while the other held the sleeping child, head laying on his shoulder. He was singing softly in a language Tien didn't understand.

It seemed impossible to recognise the bounty hunter who had fired his way into the base and rescued the child in the one holding the baby now. Violence and destruction now turned into softness and tenderness.

The scientist could remember the first time he had seen the man. The tall, imposing figure he presented. His confidence, his low gruff voice when he threatened the stormtroopers, it had all made him feel things that were better not to think about. And now, seeing a different side of the man didn’t change those feelings, it just made him curious to see more. 

Sadly, the image didn't last long. Tien leaned against one of the walls making a loose part of the machinery fall and crash loudly against the floor. In a second, he was staring straight into a blaster. 

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please, I didn't mean…," he pleaded, terrified, raising his hands and cowering against the walls.

A soft coo interrupted him. The child had opened his eyes and had raised his arms in his direction. The Mandalorian lowered the blaster and sighed.

"I had just got him to sleep." There was frustration in the modulated voice.

"I'm... I'm sorry." Tien lowered his arms warily. 

"Here." The child was unceremoniously dropped in his arms, where it started to purr happily. "Sit. I need to fix the ship's course."

Tien sat in the co-pilot seat, as the Mandalorian worked the controls. The Doctor had never really been very interested in flying and understood very little about spaceships, so he focused his attention on the child. He was relieved to see it so calm and happy. When he saw the Mandalorian escape with it, he had feared the worst. Not because he had thought the man would hurt it himself, but because he understood the lengths the Empire would go to retrieve it. And yet, here it was, safe and healthy. It obviously had been well cared for. He smiled as the small creature arranged itself against his chest and closed its eyes.

"How are you feeling?" The Mandalorian asked, back to the scientist. The question took him by surprise. He didn’t think the man cared much for him. Although it made sense, the bounty hunter wanted something from him and it was in his best interest to keep him safe and sound. So it was in Tiens’ best interest to be helpful. He shuddered to think of what would happen to him once his presence was no longer of use. As long as he had something of value to offer, the Mandalorian would protect him. 

"I feel fine. How long was I...?"

"Less than a day since I retrieved you from the Imperial ship."

"I remember... In the cell, I remember feeling pain, was I wounded?"

The Mandalorian didn't answer right away.

"Small wounds, but nothing serious,” he said finally. 

The baby cooed sleepy, borrowing deeper into his chest. His arms were stiff and he was afraid to move them. He had never had much contact with babies or children in general, so he wasn’t quite sure how to behave. However, the little one seemed happy so far in that position, so he guessed he was doing fine. 

"He remembers you. You protected him." The voice startled him. The Mandalorian was now standing in front of him, studying him and the child. 

"I did what I could." The blank stare of the helmet unnerved him. It wasn't often that he felt guilty about his work. But he had felt guilty when he first met the child and now he was feeling guilty again. 

"You could do more." It was a simple statement, but it filled Tien with dread. So now he would find out what was expected of him. 

"I still don't understand what it is that you want from me." He said cautiously. 

"Information."

"So you said, but about what? If it's about the Empire, I'm afraid I don't have..." 

"I'm not interested in the Empire, or what's left of it" the Mandalorian interrupted him, " I want to know more about the child."

"The child? I don't know..." 

"You must know something. Race? Planet of origin?"

"That was not deemed relevant, so it was not given to me. I don't have any more information than what you were told."

"What about your work? What were you doing to it?"

Tien hesitated. He was unused to talking about his orders or his work with someone who wasn't involved in it. He had been under the Empire's command since he could remember and speaking freely had not been something that had been encouraged. 

"I..."

"Tell me," the Mandalorian commanded taking a step forward, towering over the scientist and so close that made a shiver run up his spine. He could even smell the musky scent of metal and sweat coming from the bounty hunter. He gulped and tried to focus. Being ordered helped, in a way, he was used to orders. 

"I was to extract genetic material and take it to the cloning facilities beyond Rishi Maze. "

"Cloning? They wanted to clone him?" There was some disbelief in his tone, but also something else, something he couldn't identify.

"No, I don't think so. I was supposed to isolate particular strains of the material and used them to alter human genes. I specialize in bio-engineering."

"What about those in command? Did they know more about it?"

"I'm sure the general didn't."

"The general?"

"The man who hired you. I don't know his name."

"What about Moff Gideon?"

Hearing the name startled him, he didn't know the Mandalorian knew that much.

"Moff Gideon? I guess he... I guess he must know..." he answered nervously. 

A beeping sound coming from the ship's control interrupted the conversation. The child moved a bit but didn't wake up. The Mandalorian went back to the pilot seat and Tien felt a little hollow after the man had moved away, partly a result of the interrogation, and partly as a result of feeling the man’s presence so close to him. 

"We will land in a few minutes," the bounty hunter explained. 

"Land? Land where?" He hated how anxious his voice sounded. 

"Arvala-7. We need to lay low for a while."


End file.
